I don’t Know what to say, This weeks episode did something .. I was on a course so did not have my phone with me , during lunch I had so many missed calls , It was from someone I had forgotten, How did they get hold of my phone number , don’t know, but they left a message saying “Thanks” , then the Name of the person and an invitation to come for a occasion at their home, It was someone whose son had just become a lecturer. They use to live in a one room shed , that was laying empty at our place. My father had allowed them to live there and in return the man in the house use to look after the little garden my dad had.

ALL THOSE WHO READ THIS POST , I AM NOT WRITING THIS FOR A PAT ON THE BACK, OR WELL DONE’S ANYTHING SO PLEASE DONT DO SO..

I recorded the episode of SMJ and I am horrified at what I saw, I knew there is racism , casteism etc BUT at this level I did not know .. So many posts I have written , so many emails I got , comments where people have said a lot of things to me, Called me names , Called me a TRAITOR for writing about india .. WELL TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE who had a problem with me trying to talk of my nation .. Saying that I am trying to give a bad name to the nation.. let me tell them SHAME ON YOU PEOPLE. Look what is happening in the country and YOU MORONS are still saying what you are saying…

How can you talk about india shining when there is still ONE PERSON who has to get up and go and CLEAN YOUR SHIT.. manually.

As the person Mr. Wilson says Common wealth happened in spite of all the problems , I said in my previous post on tigers .. IF THE GOVT WANTS. things can change , Then why are they not doing it .. Is it not us being hypocrites , US being so bad, US not deserving to be called a HUMAN BEING.

It was hilarious to listen to people who said there is no racism, no untouchability, We indians are the MOST RACIST people, I tell you and we go on when others do the same to us because of the color of the skin, we shout hoarse if a white man says “PAKI” to us , what are we doing to our own countrymen.. the foreigners are at least not doing the same to their own countrymen..

WHICH GOD HAS SAID, WHICH RELIGION SAYS to have difference or treat other human being with such degradation ..

Mr. Stalin said it so nicely ,is there casteism or racism in Islam .. ISLAM or SIKHISM or CHRISTIANITY does not teach Casteism .. BUT it is practised by muslims, Sikhs and Christians and others toooo

I am so angry watching this show, we call ourself HUMAN.. ARE WE .. look at what we do to our own people..

65 years have gone by since our independence and WE claim of so much happening , so much development or progress.. Let me tell you ladies and gentleman all this development progress is NO GOOD if we have so many problems AND PROBLEMS , we have A LOT OF THEM.. It is time to get together and stand together and make a NOISE .. A NOISE THAT will make the DEAF hear for believe it or not , our leaders , our office bearers are no other than DEAF.. they don’t hear anything Till a loud noise is made ..

This is how the above notice was put all over the nation in those days of the british RAJ.. signed by

Balraj Commander-in-Chief (Balraj was the pseudonym of Chandra Shekhar Azaad , The commander-in-chief of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (army))

I am sorry to say we are more worried about the black money and Lot of STUPID PROBLEMS, ( I am sure all those who visit me know what I am pointing at) , or other things BUT When and WHO will fight for the basic things.

Where are the Baba Ramdev’s to fight for the development of the people who are looked down upon, where are the Anna Hazare’s to fight for them. All these people go on how Gandhi did this or wanted that.. WELL then what the hell are you GANDHIANS doing.. if you are telling me that things can’t change or it will take time to change then PLEASE SIR.. RESIGN from your POST and get lost .. I am sure there are people out there who can make sure things can change.

There is a person Mr. Wilson who has been fighting for the right of human scavengers for the last 25 years .. DID ANYONE know about him , I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT HIM.. But I am sure everyone knows Anna ji, Baba Ramdev ji , we probably even know there PA’s name , the kejriwals etc .. BUT NOT many know of Mr. Wilson. (tell me you are reading this post , did you know, that is if you have reached so far here :))

I Feel disgraceful and feel like a Hypocrite myself.. who all feel the same way tell me ?

From 1993 to 2012 no case has been registered , yet a law has been passed, STILL people are working cleaning manually .. ARE WE STILL INDIA SHINING!!!!!!!!!!!!

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE movie was made which showed about the use of Toilets , I read so many blogs , so many comments where people said oh how or why was this shown, this is not right , it showed india in a bad picture , How the director has done something wrong .. HEY TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE.. Watch the episode of Satyamev Jayate IT IS A TRUTH, that still happens in india. People are doing it because we are making them do it..

The reason why I started this post with the phone call is to TELL you , that we can make a difference if EACH of us helps ONE person or ONE family to come up, that is enough, and THAT Is all that we need to do .. HELP just ONE FAMILY and when we all do that… thats when india will be SHINING…..

THIS MAY SOUND WRONG .. BUT ALL THOSE WHO ARE READING THIS POST ( and made it here), I WOULD REQUEST YOU DO GIVE ME YOUR VIEWS GOOD OR BAD , I DONT CARE BECAUSE I KNOW ABOUT MYSELF AND WHERE I STAND, DONT JUST AS USUAL READ AND WALK AWAY or PRESS THE LIKE BUTTON or PROMOTE THIS POST WITH YOUR VOTE (that does not help) .. DO SOMETHING FOR A CHANGE .. BRING OUT THAT INNER VOICE ,EVEN IF IT SAYS “BIKRAM SHUTUP- AND CLOSE THIS BLOG“.. BUT FOR THE SAKE OF GOD SPEAK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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An honest confession here Bikram – I didnt know who Mr. Wilson is…till I read your blog. Due to some unavoidable reasons I had missed this episode of SJ, but your post made me see it online.

I agree to you when you say that it is really disgraceful as a human being to read all this. We are all living in the 21st century and we claim our country has the capacity to become the next super power. But when you read / hear such things it really does make you feel all that is crap that is being served to you by your leaders.

I would say we choose them to become our leaders and in a way give them the right to treat us like this. It is a real shame on all of us, our education, our upbringing and our Morales to let another fellow human being go through something so humiliating.

We as a country are plagued with lot of problems. Unfortunately some of them get lot of undesired attention as someone choose to tom-tom them. But the basic problems are left to die their own fate. We need to remember that unless the roots are strong a strong healthy tree cannot grow. We need to remove these problems from their roots to gradually progress to other problems we have which are at least not humiliating fellow human beings. We all need to raise our voice against this to ensure each one of us is treated with equality in terms of everything.

SO very true .. thats why I said WE all have to do something .. and hopefully and when enough anger is out there and the WE get together to make that noise .. It will create such a noise that the deaf will start to hear too.. yes we chose the leadeers but the nwhen we know how they are what they are, WE still choose them again ..

Glad you watched the episode , stark naked truth .. and as pointed out the problem we have is we are not ready to say there is a problem , rather if someone says anything we bite them too.. you shud see the emails i get sometimes .. I am officially a TRAITOR who writes only bad things about the nation and put the name in bad name amongst a vast majority of people in the world .. and what not

Recently I also read a blog where some allegations are made by someone against RAHUL Gandhi and the whole family is disappeared .. os many questions come to mind ,

it indeed is a sad what have we made of our great nation.. No one is bothered it seems

GRASS ROOT levels need to change , no use changing the cream on the top as we will get the same dirt again soon raising up.. lets hope something happens ..

Kudos for making noise because for a change we have to make a loud noise..
As I see you as somebody who is very genuine with an urge to make your contributions/efforts to at least make a small change,I would advice you to read the book “I have a Dream” by Rashmi Bansal.You will really understand how BAD our country is.This country is full of hypocrites.Do buy the book,it’s an eye opener.

I will surly look into this book for sure .. and Oh I know that for a fact that it is full of hypocrites I see them every day.. People say something and do entirly something else .. and what they do inside the shut door of their own home is another big Scandal 🙂

yes I know that, recently i heard from a friend how a family of muslims is not able to get a house on rent in bangalore and bangalore is supposedly a hi tec place where people are from all horizons.. but only for non muslims..

I agree with you Bikram. When my fellow country men want to sing glory for India, I always remind them of how very backward we are in our thought. Casteism is the worst crippling problem that will never let us move forward. rather than getting defensive about how mahaan we are, may be if we direct our energies to changing things, something positive can actually come about.

I was aghast while watching the episode…but that said, unless we do something about it, at least what we are capable of in our immediate surroundings, sitting in front of the TV won’t change a thing. 😦

I have lived in a city all this while, so I was not much exposed to such ‘casteist’ happenings. I think things will change with development. That’s what we should focus on. But then, I cannot talk about a problem to which I am not exposed directly. If I do, my opinion will be biased.

yeah but how can development help, the indian railways appoints thousand of people who manually clean .. NOW the law says its is illegal, yet they are employed , who do we think comes and cleans all that crap .. that people use the toilets in the train for ..

WE have super fast cars , that is development but still it has not helped those workers .. what should happen is when trains are made there shud be a special place to collect all that .. The engineers etc shud have thought of that .. the ministry which works on it shud think of it .. they are getting PAID for it ..

I am sorry i dont beleive in this that development will help , it does not .. it only helps a few thats it ..

Agree with every word written here.
And i accept – i didnt know about Mr. Wilson at all.
The old saying about change starts from home is what i believe in. We all can talk forever on each problem our country faces but how many of us remember those when it comes to us for some action. How many of us stop our moms and grandmoms treating maids and house helpers and garbage collectors and street cleaners equally as rest of the people around.
There are problems all around and we are angry about them too.
What we need to awareness coupled action.

IT does we have to change out home, neighbours, then the GALI-street we live in , the road and so on .. thats how things will change, spending so much time and money on bringing the black money back to the nation is not going to help anyone .. as that will be eaten up again ..

WALKING THE TALK is the time now ..

forget about stopping our parents treating the maid like that we do it ourself, simple example calling a rickshaw or auto we say OYE BHAIYA.. someone calls us OYE we wont like it ..

Bikram, I haven’t seen the episode of SMJ.. but still, what is happening is gross and the biggest blot on humanity. We supposedly turned the railways into a profit-making business and made crores out of it – so why can’t they introduce some sewage system within the trains?? And moreover, India is yet to go a long long way.. because there is selective progress and I have used this word a lot of times – the progress is very very selective – only some sects are coming up, while the poor continue to remain below the poverty line..
Like u said, each one adopt one family and take the upkeep of them.. I am sure India will be a better place…

yes rich are getting richer== poor is getting poorer.. that is what progress is for those shouting out aloud about india developing and shining .. the gap is so big that one day it will all FALL DOWN..

Frankly speaking Bikram I didn’t knew Mr Wilson before reading this post, but i know there are many people like him who are doing their bit individually for the cause of humanity, the only thing needed to be done is that more n more of us join them to strengthen their hands….and this can be done by sitting at our place too, by helping at least one people around ourselves as you suggested here…… and i personally believe that there are good number of people among us who genuinely want to do this for the society but somehow they are so evolved in earning their daily bread n butter that at the end of the day they just can’t give priority to do something for the sake of humanity…. and to overcome this we need our sacrificing attitude which is lacking into us unfortunately…….

and talking about these Ramdevs n Annas, i think they are very well exposed now and we all know what their hidden agenda is…….

Irfaan , I asked that question about Mr. wilson because not many know neither did i, and yet there are such good people working hard for the good of people..
and there are the others who are all in it for the limelight of it , to make some more money what they ahve done or are doing we can all see, yet like fools we run after them hoping against hope maybe things will change but end of the day its the same story always ..

Bikram, I saw this live, right in my house when I was just 10 years old, maybe even younger..and it was there.. as is! The “bhangis” or “jamadaars” or were given a paltry salary of some 2 rupees or maybe 10 rupees a month in 1980s (it sounds like – the salary pre-independence)..and they would clean the shit in my house..and the drains and everything – and yet the left over “roti” of the night was given from 2 ft drop! ..and you were not allowed touch them..and yet money was freely exchanged..and still worse- the crooks so called pandits – would be treated like Gods- and my parents would touch their feet or wash them ! .. I used to fight it out..I still do – for me the only thing that stayed with me – was “Untouchability is a crime against God & man”.. it used to be on all inland letters (blue colors) ..and somehow being a big fan of Gandhi..also felt there was no work that was considered small..and all kinds of such ideas.. but real life is what was 30 years back! Damn it still exists!

And..we are still fighting in our house for marrying to a Biharis or a Bengali or a punjabi when we are marwari’s.. ..casteism is deep within us..

Many of us have seen it sir, I saw it in our village , the farm help was treated like that maybe I treated them too the same way, but I was not very bright then, Now I know and have realised that things need to change.

veri right the utensils were not supposed to touch there’s, untouchability is a crime , I remember getting spanked by a relative once because I gave my tiffin to a kid and the relative was a school teacher.

although things have moved on a bit but JUST A BIT.. lot many people are in same place still, thankfully my parents are sensible, I dont see that much now , but with old people it still exists, I can sometimes still hear my NANI grumbling something if i shake hands with the farm help etc..

we all think that either we are too small to make a change or we try to appease our conscience by giving out short change to the beggars on the signal. We do not try to make a lasting impression on even one person and yet hope that miraculously, someday things will change on thier own. I appreciate you for bringing this up – we should all strive to bring if only one positive change and then someday the miracle will happen!

Sorry I must add I dont think education is doing anything, I have seen the education system its all about who or how to get 95% marks or MORE.. education system in india need a overhaul as we are producing more of THEORATICAL people then people with intelligence, if you know what i mean. I have a post on that too will put it someday , just need a couple more examples ot prove some points.

Watched and could relate to the show. I have seen how most Indian families have separate cups and glasses for some people, I think this is common in all homes, even in cities. I think intercaste marriages and casteless names could go a long way in dealing with this malaise.

I watched the show and it was really disheartening to see that no system is in place. My question is if indian railways decides to do away with the manual scavangers, what system is in place to clean the mess? So things have to change right from the top. Once the machines or whatever mechanism the west uses to keep the moving train toilets clean is put in place there is no respite even if there is a law. And this is just one example. It feels disgusting to know that there are people who make their living by cleaning other’s mess.

Government has to step up and put the basic BASIC needs into account and really do something.

Yes Bikram, this is one issue that is practised to a smaller or bigger extent in every home! We treat our servants differently. I remember the jamadars we had in our nana’s home. We were not supposed to touch them. Of course, in cities we don’t require them in our homes. But, there are people who still clean our drains though it has been banned since a long time. There was a law against manual scavenging dating back to 1993 but can laws be implemented when people don’t want them to be implemented. Every single day, we read about discrimination of dalits in papers in the villages, where they are burnt, stoned or demeaned. This is one curse that ails our society. Every family looks to marry within its own caste. This problem runs wide and deep. Urbanization could help to some extent and also if we could have the system where surnames that show castes could be dropped. You might have seen many people adopting surnames like Kumars. We all are part of this problem, some more some less. And, you know what, class problems can be overcome not caste. There is a very minor improvement, but I don’t know how good that is.http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-03/india/31280461_1_employment-of-manual-scavengers-dry-latrines-monsoon-session

The problem of every family looking ot marry in their own caste is because of other things too, how will tow families mingle , religion , festivities etc etc .. yet in our nation we all caste celebrate the SAME festivals, pray to the SAME gods , just different NAMES ..

maybe Religion shud be abolished , a lot of problems will be solved.. treat human as a human rather then sikh-muslim-pandit and then furthur into brahmin-shudra- jat-valmiki blah blah blah blah

and now in punjab many people from other caste have changed there names to something and a SINGH so it just might work in longer run if all are singhs ..

yes you are right, we alreayd seen what happened to that andolan of black money and corruption etc .. NOTHING major has happened .. the GOVT is even planning to let people go scott free who have money in foreign shores ..

BTW did u hear about the recent case of an African-American student being beaten up at Punjab university? He is lying in the hospital in a coma.

Indians are amongst the most racist people on earth… of course it’s true. We have no right to open our mouth and shout at US, UK, Australia etc. for being demeaning to us. A Punjabi makes fun a South Indian. A South Indian makes fun of north-east. A north-east makes fun of a Bihari. And the list goes on and on and on…. 😐

neither did I, till i saw the show… people who genuinely work for good seldom get noticed especially in our nation by our own people ..

yes I read about that case and one of the guy is son of a SP, so i doubt if he will be charged for anything , SAD this happened , You see this is what I mean , I have studied done my college , DID everything that guys do in college fights and all groupisms everything .. BUt never beat someone this bad and that too just for the fun of it ..

SO how is education helping these people I want to know , that’s why i say things are deteriorating, people use to tell us in college oh in such and such time things were better, we made them bad , the next generation is making it worse ..

and you are right we make fun of each other even abroad here in uk, if i am in trouble a south indian or anyone WILL NEVER help me , yet we are all in the same situation..

Basic education should be quality education. We should see to it that all children get good education. No reservation should be there. Once people get good education, they will not opt for these dirty jobs. Then the alternative will be created. The standard of living will improve. Mixed marriages will be more and slowly, yes, slowly, the situation might change.

I have seen people scrubbing the tracks in the railway stations and felt bad. People should not use toilets when the train is stopping in a station. But who cares.

Yes,that episode was disturbing.Specially when an IAS officer mentioned how he was still a Dalit despite being on the ranks of IAS.And how the much educated lady with Ph.D in Sanskrit faced discrimination just because she was a Dalit.Is education really the solution?Did she not sit in the same classroom with the other so called “high” caste people,and yet face discrimination? And yet,on the other side,you see SCs and STs getting admission in colleges even though they scored zero in their 12th exams just because of their castes.Whom can you blame? The govt cannot do anything because they think they’ll lose the votes or whatever.But look at that inspector in some remote Rajasthan police station who,even though belonging to the so-called upper caste,broke the norms by helping out the man who wanted to get his daughter married just like the other people of the village.What that inspector did was noble indeed.But then,we cannot really do much till people like the Priest from Varanasi existed.Each one should do his/her own work.Or,if we do hire help,we can at least treat them as humans.Thats all we can do,for now.
Sorry if I’ve digressed anywhere.Btw,it was a nice post 🙂

Yes, the episode upset me so much and left me in tears. After coming to live in a country where Indians are cleaning the mess every day and night, though by machines, I havent been able to sleep much. In my home state, politicians are playing musical chair for power and probably they didnt have time to even watch this episode. I am sure the episode threw light and exposed us to what we didnt want to hear, but I doubt if it goes any further. I am doing my little bit and telling people about it, not to boast, but with the fond hope that more people may get to think about it.

I am absolutely with you Bikram – let us do the little we can. Just like your Dad, my grandparents and parents have set us good role models by improving the lives of so many people by supporting their education.

We have done that too. But what I find hard to believe is that they don’t pass on the favor to others under privileged to them; instead they bring them to you!

Past is past; hereafter we have decided to only offer support as a loan which they must pay back once they start earning so that the funds can support someone else.

Now about the caste system in India, it requires a rehaul and change of heart – which can only begin with you and me.

“Yeh india hai, aisa hi hota raha hai.. aisa hi hoga.”
HEAR hear everyone – this is how INDIANS talk about our country. WOW.. Bikram I guess you have hit the nail on the head – even YOUR caste is brought out – RESEARCH kiya gaya hai aapke caste pe bhi…
This can be the ultimate example of how bad some people can be and how LOW they can STOOP.. aise log hote hain jo INDIA ko aage nahin badhne dena chaahte…

I fell in love with Mr. Wilson..seriously he is one of most simple,beautifully outspoken and emotional person i have ever seen..yes to every good point in the show.

i still remember i was in class 8th and there was this lady who used to clean the drains in the Ordinance factory estates and one day my mom told me to give a hot meal she prepared for the cleaning lady and when i tried to give it to her in her hand she told me to drop it ( from a great distance) in the basket she was carrying…i didnt understand it then but years later when i did, it killed me inside that she had accepted that she would be given food by dropping it in her basket …

there is absolutely no regard for another human life..same people who take pride in being a high caste hindu brahmin, if their house is on fire will they ask caste of firemen and other people trying to save their life….no they wont isnt it..they will conviniently forget all the barriers of religions and caste as and when they need others…
and oh yes all of us have had ancestors in stone age..am sure they believed in caste and religions too..

He got so emotional but more than that it was the genuine anger in him, this this emotion to do something for people.

THAT is what is needed for the nation to change a lot of that anger in A LOT OF US ALL.

exactly hypocrite people, as the old man said his relative had to have his son’s blood transfusion and use smaller caste’s blood, so has he thrown his son out of the house , because the blood is of a lower caste..

we change according to our situation, RELIGION needs ot be abolished it has never done anything good , thats what i think all it does is divide people more ..

You know what Bikram, I have to share a story with you. A girl and a guy loved each other. The guy was a brahmin but the girl was not. The guys parents was adamant that the guy should not marry the girl becuase she was not a brahmin. The guy was adamant that he would marry the girl. They registered for a court marriage. 2 weeks before the marriage, the guys dad fell ill (or decided to fall ill) and threatneded the guy not to go ahead. All hell broke loose. The girl’s side had arranged a reception, and no way could that be cancelled at such a short notice. The father wanted him to totally cut off everything. The guy went ahead with the marriage, but for the sake of his father’s health told him he isn’it. Its been ages since that has happened. The guy and the girl live thier lives as singles still and still conitnue to do so. The father(magically) recovered from his illness and is perfectly fine now. The guy is still trying to convinve his father. But in this day and age the father is still adamant and has not moved an inch. All in the name of caste.I hope you would have guessed who the girl is!

The episode had touched my heart and body on each and every inch. Recorded that episode, and it will thrown across on each and every family who STILL are stuck to these loathsome belief of caste and religion.

Like rightly pointed out in the episode, when everything comes down to blood, it is just a matter of 4 blood groups!!!

Bikram, will someone explain me why the last census of India was conducted on lines of cast and religion? The Government, or whatever it is, itself is buttressing the abominable convictions of the vulnerable towards the narrow end of creating vote banks.

I have not seen this episode but yes how can i disagree with you.It is true that the lot of these(sweepers)should be improved,but pardon me for saying this;if the govt.is not doing something,what are they doing for themselves?I see these people all around my home ,there are very few who work diligently.Education in Govt schools up to the middle level is free(correct me if i am wrong),books too are given free but their progeny do not avail of these opportunities.We have seen that when a dalit raises his standard through his own efforts,he is no longer shunned.Why wait for the people to change their attitudes;why don’t they raise themselves above this discrimination?
So far as the question of not touching a sweeper is concerned-it is a matter of hygiene.Whenever i clean my toilet i take a bath change clothes & then touch anything.Till then i am as untouchable as a sweeper.

I understand what you are saying an believe me I am totally with you on this too. the govt needs to abolish this reservation system. I dont agree with that either.

but the problem is GOVT does only that will benefit them,

I agree with you some of the people dont want to work hard or they dont let their kids study in free schools as two people earning means more money in the house.

The untouchability that I am talking about is not about touching someone who has jsut cleaned the toilets, I am talking about why shud they clean them in the first place. It against the law for a human to do it.

Again dalits or lower caste who have made a name for themself are still not welcome as we heard the case of the IAS officer, and the lady who is a lecturer now, They are still shunned because of the caste they belong to.

I watched the episode. There is something I always say to people who look down on those who do certain jobs supposedly menial. Actually we should fall at the feet of those who do such work and worship them for what they do, not treat them as untouchables. So many things exist on paper, but thrives in reality.
We as a nation are racists and only make a noise when something happens to an Indian outside the country. 😦

So very true.. jeev milkha singhs trainer gets searched ,he is a Sikh at airport the media went mad. Every day was in news and what we do to our own . We can see ourself.. Such a sad state.. I can tell you I have never been racially abused here in uk but in India I have heard everything from being told oye sardar wapis Punjab ja.. in my own country and I am rich. Imagine the plight of poor.. shameful..

Bikram, have read your post yesterday, but wanted to watch the episode before posting a comment and I could finish it now. Pathetic, pitiful are too small words to describe the reality. We all are big time hypocrites. Caste system, untouchability are both interlinked. Every household that I have known and seen has separate plates and glasses for servants. How fortunate am I that my mom never maintained anything ‘SEPARATE’ for the maids who worked for us? To confirm this, I had been recollecting since yesterday and spoke to my mom also.
I know that there are people who do scavenging for a living but never knew so much of discrimination is shown towards them even today. Shame on me for living in such ignorance.
As educated people belonging to the so called forward castes, I see it everywhere. Here, after travelling thousands of miles and living away from home, Indians at work place, makes friends selectively. They form into groups, of people who speak their own native language. A north Indian prefers to be friends with a north Indian. A tamilian with another tamil, a telugu with another telugu. We are all Indians right? Is this raceism or casteism or regionalism?

Oh yes I know that feeling about the indians abroad, I know from experience and I have seen it too a indian never helps another indian, and if they take the first step to help the caste comes next or what region one is from north – south etc etc..

Bikram,
I missed the episode but I understand what you are saying. And you are not a traitor. India is in deep shit and that is true. There is no denying that. There is so much wrong in this country that it is a wonder that it still exists. So, it is all right to rant about whatever wrong you see around you.

I came back to write something I felt had to be say about this sentence of yours, Bikram:

//”…we are more worried about the black money and Lot of STUPID PROBLEMS, ( I am sure all those who visit me know what I am pointing at)”//

Take the example of a person with cancer. The priority is chemotherapy/surgery or whatever is needed to control it’s spread. Right? Suppose the person bangs against some furniture and his toe nail comes off. Will the person give that lesser importance because he has a greater illness that is troubling him? That ALSO is given attention, pronto. Suppose he gets diarrhea, a headache.. each illness is given attention too. They don’t become “stupid illnesses” because he has a greater illness to fight.
The same way, the problems society faces are all interconnected, none of them are “stupid”.

I understand what you say , But then by stupid problems I meant a lot more . and

The examples you have given are fine in context with illness.. There is also a example that if a person is have a asthma attack , or some other attack and He burst his ferminal artery then I will leave everything and concentrate on that blood loss because He may survive from a stroke or a heart attack but from the blood loss he has just about 2 minutes ..

I do beleive that problems are interconnected BUT I am sure if one thing is tackeled at a time a person has more of chance ..

The problem we have is that instead of starting from ROOT we always try to get hold of the branch and rectify it , but if we look after the root and take care of that , the branch will take care of itlsef in time .. The plant may be dieing but if we take care of the root which may have some life the whole plant lives a healthy life..

But then thats my point of view , I in my STUPID mind think we need to be together and start from root … only then things will change otherwise No matter what who does what , how much effort is put in any thing , things will not change as we have seen in the 65 years of independance .. All the slogans of india shining etc have gone one way as we have seen ..

Till all of us have in our heart to Think about the nation and not in our own little world, things will not change and till we keep pulling each other down , blaming fingers at each other , things wont work..

Blaming won’t work. True. India has never shone, not as long as we are racist, oppress a caste or gender or even an age group (old or young). India shining is just a political slogan that no one believes in reality. Personally I have never believed it, only seen it as an ad by vested interests.

but if you read i am talking to those who think it that way , and I have mentioned the emails or comments I have got and offcourse the ones who think nothing is wrong.. and speaking of it makes india lose face in world ..

SHAil :- Yes, I remember reading that and I don’t agree with such people. India losing face is not the problem. That its people are suffering is the problem and so we have to speak. Let me assure you Bikram, I totally understand your point of view and endorse it too. I merely wanted to point out that ALL social ills are interconnected and solving them as important 🙂

If a day arrives when we stop asking a person for his caste in any form then it would be great.

I did not see this episode fully and I do not know who Mr.Wilson is, but if people in India are being subject to inhuman treatment as you mentioned in the name of caste its a shame.

The fact is change is not happening where its required but being politicized where its not.

By birth I am classified as a Forward COmmunity in India. In some parts of the country we have a reservation system for everything. In TN , a person;s caste would decide what course or institute he would get in addition to his marks. For the same seat, an FC would need 99% as he would be competing in the Open Category. Whereas a person classified as MBC or BC would need probably only 90%. How is this fair? This was introduced for the upliftment of the downtrodden classes in the society. Most of the people classified as Backward or Most Backward are in good positions today , most of them engineers, doctors lawyers etc. So why this difference?

Every day we have some community demanding a percent of reservation for their caste. This is one side of the coin.

On the other side we have so many villages in India where people still follow untouchability, Dalits are not allowed certain practices, Village panchayats themselves follow the discriminations etc. These sections of society are not helped at all by any improvement the country makes.

Its either following a horrible system or using the horrible system for political means. Either ways the common man does not get any help.

This is deep rooted in the minds of the people and it wont get uprooted all that easily. As you said, each one of us needs to help one needy child or person.

I have seen remarkable changes in some sections of India. I am confident that it will happen everywhere. But when, I do not have an answer.

It always surprises me that such important issues and problems that happen within a nation like India (and for that matter, nations in South Asia) the elite, who’s responsibility is to ‘drive the nation forward’ fail miserably with disastrous consequences. This issue which you have touched upon for high government officials, or those who consider themselves upper-caste, may be minor issue, one which holds less importance – but in reality nothing could be far from the truth.

After, briefly, reviewing the comments here, I realise the average person (no matter where in the world they might reside) wants something done about this. Not tomorrow, next week or next month – something needs to be done about this immediately. BUT BUT BUT, like everything else, those who sit in the air-conditioned government offices, or those who think they are the highest cast have eroded the confidence of the average person to do anything about it.

In my view, it boils down to one thing – why doesn’t anyone listen to us, and are we that helpless against fighting for what is right?

It always is TBAB , who gives a damn about important issues, such issues never bring anyone to limelight , its always the crappy ones that bring one to limelight and thats what people want most of the time.

I completely agree with you Bikram. It’s things like these which are hampering the growth of a developing nation. At the outset people might claim that all is well, but when one digs deep, we can find so many negative disturbances which are degrading the quality of the society. The problem today is that, people think they can do everything and in the process they prevent people , who are actually capable of doing something positive from coming, to the forefront, and continue to hamper the growth. If India needs to grow, it has a multitude of problems to tackle, but only if the so called politicians decided to tackle it, it can be done. The saddest part it, these people are not bothered about tackling the problems. It’s just money and power and making the common man , a complete fool! But, Something needs to be done, we have to do it and stop these people from making us fools and show them that we are capable of much more!

Yeah, the growth now is bringing bigger divide poor is getting poorer and rich is getting richer which is not how a nation should move forward.

we have a lot of problems but they are all that can be handled and taken care of , but for that as you say GENUINE effort needs to be made by the leaders and Govts. The problem is also if one GOVT wants to do something the opposition will do its utmost to make sure it does not happen, as they will not get the advantage for that.

so each party makes sure the other doesnot do good and yet they cry out themselves this shud happen that shud happen …

i did not see this particular episode. But I agree discrimination based on religion /caste very much exists . I have seen houses where the maids are given separate cups for tea … As kids we were always taught by my parents – if someone is elder to you he/she has to be respected …and this is what i am passing on to my kids with a slight change . Age too doesn’t matter every individual has to be respected.

You know what Bikram, I belong from Rajasthan and you know what in that place when people meet you for the first time, the first thing they ask directly on your face is ” asp kaun si jaat ke hain” meaning, what caste you belong to…based on the answer it is decided what level of treatment is to be given out to you.
Earlier I had seen my grand mother do so and now I see my mother in law do so. Its sad, disgusting and depressing but its their reality. I agree when you say that we just need to help at least 1 person and that would definitely make a whole of a difference…

Its the same in punjab too they dont ask the caste but they ask what region you are from , punjab is furthur divided in four regions .. so much so that people wont marry in different regions too , even if you are of same surname 🙂

honestly bikram,thos calling u names for writing abt india seeem to be living in denial..i agree with the entire post here,every word written here is nothin but thr truth..and yes der can b change if the govt as well as the ppl wanna bring abt a change..it really saddens me the whol sit.

Bikram, there is no way we deny that we do not have caste ism. We might not disapprove of our kids being friends with people belonging to other caste. But we would definitely condemn them we they choose to marry from a different caste. Caste has seeped deep into our systems.

And yes I had not heard about Mr.Wilson or Mr.Stalin until I watched SMJ.

Hi Bikram
Very well written. I guess the SMJ has come out with many problems that we all know of but did not know that they prevailed in such Extensivity. We can talk a lot but it won’t solve anything. For many problems like dowry, home voilence, pesticides and casteism, the efforts have to be started at our homes first by US. We are the solutions. Blaming others wont solve anything. WE SHOULD TAKE ACTION OURSELF. What is Govt. They are first human beings. If they practice these things at their homes first, every thing will fall at its place.

Thank you so much. It is coming out with problems that effect all of us in one way or the other.
well thats what we mostly do TALK about it , we been doing that for the last 65 years now , first we blamed it on the british now that has also gone .. still nothing changes

and very true the key is WE, each one of us , no leader , no Govt it is WE.. when tht happens things will change within minutes

U have a very strong voice!! U have an command that enlighten our thought process!! I havent followed SMJ yet..

But when you say India is shining… I would say……. Yes, it is shining, in the malls, in the PVRs, in the pubs and the nightclubs, in the flyovers. It is shining in the glamour of high income class living in the modern luxuries. But….
Still, people live on streets and slums.
Still, the homeless are dying
Still, we have dirty sand clad children who have never even thought of going to school.
Still, women, educated and working, are harassed for dowry, leading to dowry deaths.
Still, several villages are without electricity & roads.
Still, agriculture depends on monsoons and farmers are committing suicides
Yet, India is shining! Isn’t it?

Yes, it indeed is a strong pun!!

We have to take step .. we have to be aggressive.. we have to fight… Some things do not work on Gandhi values… there should be rebel..

So remembering the pledge of India I would say,To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.

I have the same questions to ask , but sadly there are no answers to any of those because I also feel the state our nation is in WE ARE responsible for that , we are to be blamed as we ourself have let this come to this stage.

I dont know why but such slogans are used by us and we take pride in that fantasy ride and enjoy the show….. I really dont understand when did we shine? And the biggest question that comes to my mind is when will we? Racism is still prevalent even i unknown forms. I liked the post, and I liked it for its simply placed views…. 🙂 🙂

Honestly speaking, I was avoiding reading this post…crossed it many times since yesterday…was happy in my own world didn’t want to bother myself about the problems of India…I guess, this is how we all r to some extent…closing our eyes to the social problems till one day they hit us…
I agree we need to raise voice…need to do something…
Appreciate ur views and concern..good u bring up the issue and called for opinion

Rahul, Thank you for that, I do think that our thoughts match each others a lot. I do have this feeling that change can happen immediately , we dont have to wait provided ALL of us work towards it .. one person ot 10 or 20 cant make that difference no matter how hard they work…

but all of us the change will be visible in a minute ..

Hey rahul check the latest article and Watch the VIDEO brother you will love it …

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